Dear Editor
Like thousands of Canadians I watched the television coverage on the death of Nelson Mandela. The celebration of his life in its many details enthralled us. Never will there be another leader with his moral capacity. His Memorial Service was the largest gathering of world leaders ever to take place, a clear indication that the he touched the hearts of the world. I was very impressed with our Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney for the part he played in mobilizing Canada and other Commonwealth countries to impose sanctions on the apartheid government of South Africa in 1985. I felt proud of country’s contribution to the fight for human rights and for our dispay of compassion.
Despite these uplifting feelings that Nelson Mandela’s story have stirred in us I have a bewildering conflict of emotions. What change of attitude and change of heart will guide government policy makers? What priority will human rights be given at home and abroad if our economic advantages are threatened? What effort will governments make to withstand the power and blatant human rights abuses of multinational monopolies? Will our governments continue to overlook the Big Pharmaceutical industry’s profiteering while millions of global citizens continue to die?
When does the pathological focus of the multinational pharmaceutical monopolies to make unlimited profits become a crime against humanity? Why cannot essential medicines be manufactured and sold at an affordable price to the millions living in impoverished countries? Why must so many lives be sacrificed and so many countries held hostage to insatiable greed? Surely there is a humanitarian response to this inhuman treatment. When will our Canadian leadership take a compassionate stand once again in solidarity with the legacy of Nelson Mandela and his life-long struggle for human rights?
Sharon Ogden
Grandmothers of the Grand
Sharon Ogden